Select Committee on Transport, Local Government and the Regions Memoranda

Memorandum by Bracknell Forest Borough
Council (NT 12)

I am writing in response to your request for
submissions to the Urban Affairs Sub-Committee of the House of
Commons Select Committee on Transport, Local Government and the
Regions which is considering the problems and future of New Towns.
Bracknell Forest Borough Council welcomes the fact that the Government
are examining the issue and are grateful for the opportunity to
provide information to the Sub-Committee.

Bracknell, in common with all other New Towns,
was subject to a large scale development over a short period of
time. As a result, much of the architectural fabric in the town,
in the case of Bracknell particularly in the Town Centre, is of
a similar period and style which has not aged well. In considering
the Council's response, two points are of paramount importance.
The first is that in the medium to long term, Government policy
is not geared to the needs of New Towns. Indeed, in some cases,
current policy can obstruct progress on issues which are important
for the long term development and sustainability of former New
Towns. Whilst the Council understands that there are many real
and serious issues that the Government need to address that are
not related to New Towns, the New Towns' specific problems do
need to be seen as part of the mainstream policy agenda to ensure
that they do not become larger scale issues over the next decade
which need even greater investment to overcome.

The second key issue specifically relating to
Bracknell Forest, is that the Town Centre is in serious decline
with around 80 per cent of people living within 10 minutes' drive
choosing to shop elsewhere. A major consequence of this is that
community identity is seriously undermined and there is no focal
point for local activity. To be a successful and sustainable community,
a town centre needs to be a place in which people can both live
and work, reducing the requirement to drive to other destinations
with the resulting pressure on the transport infrastructure.

The Council has been working with landholders,
the Regional Development Agency, the Civic Trust and many other
stakeholders and now has many of the elements in place to undertake
a successful regeneration of Bracknell Town Centre. However, in
some respects, the plans that have now been developed do not reflect
the current paradigm of physical and social regeneration in more
traditional urban areas. The solutions being proposed are, however,
directly relevant to the area and the specific problems faced
locally which are a legacy inherited as a New Town. As part of
the process of bringing New Town issues into the mainstream agenda
it is essential that other organisations that influence redevelopment
policy understand the context in which New Town regeneration proposals
are developed.

Within this general framework there are a number
of specific points which the Urban Affairs Sub-Committee could
usefully consider. A particular issue is that Government funding
for major regeneration schemes is not available to a New Town
such as Bracknell because of the relative affluence and lack of
deprivation in the area. Provided the context within which we
are working is understood this may not be seen as unreasonable.
However, there are a number of specific points which would facilitate
more effective regeneration possibilities in the future. In particular,
the process relating to the transfer of land from the Commission
for New Towns to local authorities could be re-examined.

In this respect, the transfer of housing and
neighbourhood shopping centre assets to the Local Authority in
1978 and the early 1980s was largely unproblematic. However, by
contrast the transfer of community related assets in 1983 has
created a number of problems. Central to this is the fact that
the process included standard covenants on land which mean that
if it is sold, or the use changed in a way which increases its
value, English Partnerships and hence, in practice, the Treasury
realise a large share of the increase. In reality, English Partnerships
do not take a role in the regeneration process and this is draining
resources from local authorities as they try to deal with the
growing need for sustainable regeneration in the New Towns. Changes
to the rules relating to the clawback arrangements would significantly
help overcome this process.